A new book, “Divorce Your Car” by Katie Alvord, argues that our
relationship with automobiles requires intensive therapy. Like other self-help
guides, it helps readers understand the dynamics of their unhealthy
affiliations. Some drivers may find that it provides the encouragement they
need to dump their attractive, but sometimes abusive, mechanical partners.

Alvord is a clear and witty writer who combines history,
social commentary, interesting stories, and practical advice for developing a
“car-free” or “car-lite” lifestyle. She speaks from her own personal
experience, and the experience of many other people who have found ways to rely
on alternative transportation. The book is stuffed with helpful information for
anybody who wonders whether their liaison with a car is a love affair or a
shotgun wedding.

Alvord is a bike enthusiast. She cycles for transportation
and recreation, installs snow tires on her bike in winter, and hauls bikes on a
kayak in summer in Upper Michigan where she and her husband live “car-lite”.
But the book is not monogamous. It covers a variety of travel options,
including walking, cycling, transit, alternative fuel vehicles (including
electric bikes) telecommuting, and “playing the field” (using a combination of
travel modes).

There is a lot of common-sense advice, some rather obvious.
For example, her suggestions for cycling include: educate yourself; wear a
helmet; use lights and reflectors; ride with, not against traffic; wear comfortable
clothes.

But even experienced cyclists will find useful information
and inspiring ideas. She describes creative ways to make cycling easier, such
as the Buttemer family in the Comox Valley, who only insure their car during
the rainy season, and a firefighter in suburban Maryland who commutes using a
foldable bike and public transit.

Here’s an exercise Alvord recommends for people just
starting to rely on cycling for transportation: Take a few test rides to
determine how far you can comfortably ride. Then, on a local map draw a circle
of that distance around your home. For example, if you can comfortably cycle 2
kilometres, draw a circle with a radius of 2 kms with your home in the center.
Now, list the places that you might visit within that circle. Whenever you plan
to go to one of those destinations, “don’t think car, think bike”.

There are also suggestions for improving transportation
choices in a community, or as one section is titled, “Visions of Less Auto
Dominance.” This section describes how a transportation system could evolve to
be more balanced, and how that could improve residents’ quality of life. The
book includes specific suggestions for making streets safer and more attractive
for walking and cycling, and examples of successful pedestrian and bicycle
advocacy organizations.

Being a professional librarian, Alvord is a stickler for
detailed references: there are twenty pages listing books and organizations
that support alternative transportation. Many of these resources have Internet
links, making the information easy to obtain.

Table Of Contents

Introduction

Part 1: Love's Been Blind: How We Ended Up Married To Cars

1: Falling Head Over Wheels: The Advent of Cars

2: Other Suitors Drop by the Wayside: The Decline of Non-Car
Transport

3: The Possessive Auto Takes Over the Landscape: The
Proliferation of Roads and Suburbs

4: Keeping the Romance Alive: The Role of Marketing and
Advertising

5: This isn't Love, This is Addiction! The Relationship
Today

Part 2: Grounds For Divorce: Why Our Automotive Marriage Is On The Rocks

6: Smoke Gets in our Eyes: The Damage Done to Air

7: Cleaning Up After the Car: Oil Spills and Other
Environmental Messes

8: The Little Bad Habits that Drive us Crazy: Miscellaneous
Drawbacks of Living with Cars

9: Not a Cheap Date: The Real Cost of Cars

10: The Greatest Cost: The Toll from Car Crashes

Part 3: How To Divorce Your Car: Let Me Count The Ways

11: Just Walk Out! Using Your Feet Instead of Your Car

12: You'll Look Sweet Upon the Seat: Bicycles for Transportation

13: Let Someone Else Take You for a Ride: Transit and Other
Shared Transportation

14: On the Rebound: Alternative Fuels

15: Long Distance Relationships: Telecommunications

16: Get Support: Social and Political Strategies for Ending
Car Addiction

17: Play the Field: The Spice of Transportation Variety

18: Car-Dependent No More: Ending Auto Dominance

Resources

Notes

Index

Publishers Summary

Our romance with cars, begun with enthusiasm more than 100
years ago, has in fact become a very troubled entanglement. Today´s
relationship with the automobile inflicts upon us pollution, noise, congestion,
sprawl, big expenses, injury, and even death. Yet we continue to live with cars
at a growing cost to ourselves and the environment.

What can people do about this souring affair?--Divorce your
car! Re-meet your feet, board a bike, take a train, pull out of this
dysfunctional relationship with the automobile! Divorcing your car can take
many forms, from simply using it less to not owning one at all. This practical
guide shows how divorcing a car can be fun, healthy, money-saving, and helpful
to the planet in the process.

Most other transportation reform books emphasize long-range
political and economic policy. Divorce Your Car! speaks less about policy and more
about realistic actions that individuals can take now to reduce their
car-dependence. It encourages readers to change their own driving behavior
without waiting for broader social change, stressing that individual action can
drive social change.

Car-dependency is a serious problem, but Divorce Your
Car! is leavened with love-affair and self-help analogies in the text as
well as cartoon illustrations. From commuters crazed by congestion and soccer
moms sick of chauffeuring, to environmentalists looking for auto alternatives--Divorce
Your Car! provides all the reasons not to drive and the many alternative
ways we can all get around without our cars.